WEST HARTFORD, Mass. – Simmons volleyball (16-10, 10-3 GNAC) heads into the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) post-season with a two-match win-streak, following victories over Albertus Magnus College (6-24, 2-11 GNAC) and the University of St. Joseph (6-21, 2-11 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon.

MATCH 1: Simmons 3, Albertus Magnus 0
In their first match of the day, the Sharks set the tone early winning the first set, 25-14, to take the 1-0 match advantage. But they turned up the offense ain the second and third sets. 

Hitting a staggering .560 as a team with 15 kills on 25 attempts and just one miscue, Simmons slammed home a 25-8 win to jump in front by two games. They kept the pressure on the Falcons, posting a .412 attack percentage as a team to seal the match with an identical, 25-8 score.

Senior outside hitter Sydney Iannantuono continued her high offensive output as of late, registering a .526 hitting percentage with a team-high 12 kills on 19 attempts and just two errors. Junior outside hitter Claire Conners hit .500 from floor, tallying nine kills on 16 attempts and just one error, while junior Jayla Parnell was steady on defense with nine digs.

MATCH 2: Simmons 3, University of St. Joseph 0
Simmons offensive explosion carried into its second match of the day, nearly hitting .400 as a team in a, 3-0, sweep of the University of St. Joseph (Conn.).

Conners led the charge opening the game putting down seven kills on 13 attempts to help the jump out in front to an early 1-0 lead, taking the first set, 25-19. She was nearly perfect in the second set, going four-for-six from the floor with a block assist en route to a 25-10 lead and come one set from sealing the victory.

There was no letting up for the Sharks in the third set. Only making two attack errors as a team, they posting an outstanding .345 attack percentage, while stuffing the Blue Jays at the net with a total of six block assists to clinch the match with a 25-12 win.

Hitting .448 against the Blue Jays, Conners registered 16 kills on 29 attempts with just three errors, while also notching a pair of block assists. She was one of four players to record at tleast two blocks as Simmons tallied double digits blocks for the sixth time this season as a team.

SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior outside hitter Claire Conners registered a .467 attack percentage, tallying 25 kills on 45 attempts with just four errors, and a pair of total blocks against the Falcons and Blue Jays.
• Senior outside hitter Sydney Iannantuono followed up with 19 kills on 34 attempts for a staggering .471 hitting percentage, while also tallying 21 digs.
• First-year middle hitter Alex Spencer recorded three block assists for the third time this season in the Sharks 3-0 win over the Blue Jays.

UP NEXT
Simmons clinched the fourth seed in the GNAC post-season and will host fifth seed Regis College on Tuesday, November 1 at 7 p.m. at the Holmes Sports Center.